HomeMy WebLinkAbout060 16JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
In the Matter of Recognizing that Public Health}
is Essential State -Wide, the BOH calls on the }
Washington State Legislature to Provide the } RESOLUTION NO. 60-16
Critical Down Payment to Support Core }
Services in all Communities }
WHEREAS, the public health system in Washington provides the foundation for the larger health care
framework, working to prevent illness and disease while supporting the work of community partners;
and
WHEREAS, tracking, responding to, and preventing costly food and water contamination and disease
outbreaks is essential to protecting the public's health; and
WHEREAS, state and local public health officials, together with local leaders, have identified an agreed
upon set of core public health services that should be available for every Washingtonian; and
WHEREAS, after a century of increasing life expectancies, today these gains are threatened by new and
more complex diseases, continued tobacco use and preventable chronic diseases, putting today's
children at risk of becoming the first generation to have shorter life expectancies than their parents; and
WHEREAS, the public's well-being is also threatened by public health's inability to meet is basic
responsibility to provide these core services due to changes in its funding structure, complex and new
diseases, and growing populations; and
WHEREAS, the motor vehicle excise tax was repealed in 2000, leaving the public health system without
an adequate and sustainable funding source; and
WHEREAS, Washington state's population has grown by more than one million residents since 2000,
and is expected to grow by another two million residents by 2025; and
WHEREAS, Washington state spends less on public health protection ($38.08 per person) than other
states like Idaho ($54.35 per person) and Wyoming ($89.75 per person); and
WHEREAS, due to the growing complexity of diseases and the vulnerability to new and emerging
diseases, it requires Jefferson County Public Health staff to gain and maintain knowledge and expertise
in an ever increasing number of disease threats and calls for increasing and engaging in active rather
than passive surveillance; and
WHEREAS, due to these complexities, disease investigations and controlling disease outbreaks such as
food -borne illnesses, vector-borne illnesses, or toxics investigations take longer and require increased
expertise; and
WHEREAS, Jefferson County, like most counties statewide, is experiencing rising numbers of opioid
addictions along with the impacts of ongoing alcohol and other drug misuse; and
WHEREAS, Jefferson County has an increasingly older population demographic as well as a low-
income and homeless population demographic negatively impacted by many social determinants of
health which contributes to chronic diseases (often unmanaged) that impact both the quality and length
of life; and
WHEREAS, Jefferson County Public Health does not have the resources necessary to meet these
increased current and future public health demands; and
WHEREAS, over the last four years, state and local public health leaders have developed a plan to
modernize the state's public health system, ensuring core services are available everywhere and
designating others that can be effectively and efficiently shared between health departments; and
WHEREAS, without securing ongoing, stable, and dedicated funding for core public health services, our
communities are left unprepared for emergencies like the SR 530 Slide, and vulnerable to the spread of
communicable diseases like Zika and whooping cough; and
WHEREAS, rebuilding and refocusing our public health services means we can better monitor and
coordinate emergency responses—keeping our families and communities safe, reducing costs for
taxpayers, and protecting our local economy; and.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Jefferson County Board of Health calls on the
Washington state legislature to recognize that public health is essential and provide the critical down
payment to support core services in all communities and to allow public health to rebuild its statewide
system with added efficiency. The Jefferson County Board of Health is ready to stand with the
Legislature to support sustainable public health funding and identify the resources necessary to fund it.
APPROVED, ADOPTED AND PASSED, THIS day of 4.Lrn �_ 2016.
JEFFER CO T BOARD OF HEALTH
DAN Sullivan, Chair Catharine Robinson, Vice -Chair
All Buhler, Member
Kat hlee Kler em r
John ustin, Member
Phil Johnson, Member
Sheila Westerman, Member